NIH boosts emergency care research

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BETHESDA, Md., July 31 (UPI) -- A new research center will help diagnose and provide care for "the full spectrum of conditions that require emergency treatment," U.S. health officials said.

Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md., said the Office of Emergency Care Research will not fund grants, but it will foster innovation and improvement in emergency care and in the training of future researchers.

"NIH has supported research to advance emergency care for years; but now we have a single office to coordinate and foster our activities in this arena," Collins said in a statement. "The NIH Office of Emergency Care Research will focus on speeding diagnosis and improving care for the full spectrum of conditions that require emergency treatment."

Collins said the new office will coordinate funding opportunities that involve multiple NIH institutes and centers and work closely with the NIH Emergency Care Research Working Group, which includes representatives from most NIH institutes and centers.

It will also organize scientific meetings to identify new research and training opportunities in the emergency setting, catalyze the development of new funding opportunities and inform investigators about funding opportunities in their areas of interest, Collins said.

The center will fostering career development for trainees in emergency care research and represent NIH in government-wide efforts to improve the nation's emergency care system, Collins said.